Casts used to set broken bones or other injuries to limbs generally consist of a hard outer shell, a sleeve, and an internal fabric or wrapping. The outer shell is typically made of layers of fiberglass or plaster. The inner wrappings are typically made from flexible woven or non-woven materials, such as cotton, polyester or other fibers. The hard outer cast shells typically are removed by using powered oscillating saws, which can be noisy and may create substantial fine debris. In order to prevent injury to patients, oscillating saws are usually operated at high frequency and low amplitude. However, oscillating saws can still cause burns or abrasions, and in many cases cause fear in many patients, especially small children.
What is needed are improved methods and apparatus for removal of a cast. Various embodiments of the present invention provide this in novel and unobvious ways.